Hawaii Part 3

Snorkeling at Hanauma Bay. It was really cool! I talked to my mom afterwards and turns out this is the same place I went snorkeling with my mom when I was around 6. My most vivid memory of that trip is being bit on my finger by a fish with HUMONGOUS teeth, and I ran screaming for the shore because my finger was GUSHING blood and I knew JAWS was going to get me. That was at Hanauma Bay.

A view of Hanauma Bay from top of hill.

I took this picture because the first night we walked by it Ben was really hungry and we were looking for a restaurant and he got excited because he thought we had found a "Buffet". Tee hee! We ended up eating there a few days later.

Laie Hawaii Temple. Beautiful! The view if you were to turn the camera around was all the way down several palm tree lined blocks straight to the ocean. The temple workers at this temple are so cool. Once lady, named Malia ironically, took several pictures of us outside. She insisted.

I made Ben run from the waves 6 or 7 times to get just the right shot :)

Now don't look too close (perv) but the backs of my thighs got burned SO bad! In fact they are now starting to peel, which is my favorite part of getting burned. But in the picture you can see how red they are. This was after we went to the temple, and stopped at this amazing place called Waimea Bay. I think it's considered to be the North Shore of Hawaii. The waves were so great and the beach sloped so steep right into the ocean.

This was also at Waimea Bay. If we'd had more time, we probably would have gone at and swam a little deeper but since it was getting dark and who in their right mind goes swimming in the ocean in the dark (anyone seen Jaws?).

I am embarrassed by this picture. I was running from the waves, and trying to convey to the camera that I was having a ball. I WAS having a ball, but jeez I look like an insane person.

Underneath that puff of mist is a whale. You'll just have to trust me.

I learned this trick from my mom, and Ciara has done this to me too. Make the others in the picture think it is a genuine happy picture, then pull a face right before the picture takes. This is a very fun thing to do, I'm only sorry I haven't realized this earlier.

This was a sunset dinner cruise. My hair demonstrates the violence of the wind, and the wind was almost always present. The sunset this night, like most of the nights, was covered up by low clouds on the horizen. I thought sunsets in Hawaii were supposed to always be great. Well they're not.

Oh how fun. I got to dance. What...a....blast.

Ben is busting his BEST move and I caught it on camera!

Oh SAD! Our last night there, so we shot one last picture. The beach we were on this night, right behind some super nice hotel, was SO nice. Super soft sand and the water was such a pretty light blue-green. In case you are wondering those aren't both Ben's feet. One is mine. Can you guess which one?

The kids scored some souveniers! Malia LOVES her coconuts and grass skirt. The ties on the coconuts are adjustable so they also fit oh, I don't know, someone a little older who might also like to play dress up. NO!!!! Not ME! How could you even THINK that???

Riley got a cool hook necklace (hard to see in pic) and a shirt with a map of Hawaii. They got some other stuff too, like beach towels, trinkets, etc. By the end of the trip we REALLY missed the kids and had visions of us all rolling on the ground hugging and laughing. Well, when Riley first saw us he was all hugs and kisses and "where's my prize?". But Malia looked uncertain and wouldn't come to me or Ben! I have a feeling that in her mind she had a vague memory of us but had already moved on :) That didn't last long and now she's little miss follow me everywhere again.

2010 Wrap Up!

Another year has come and gone, and all in all I'd say 2010 was a great year. We started out in the Spring with a LOT on our plates in dealing with finishing the backyard, but now that it's done I'm so amazed and proud of what a lot of hard work has accomplished. We took a trip to Boise to visit my mom, and discovered that a vacation with kids is no vacation at all :). But we have the priceless pictures to prove that we did take our kids on vacation. In two years we hope to do a real vacation and take them to Disneyland. By then Malia will be 3 and a much more reasonable person, we hope. Malia turned one this year, Riley turned 5, I (Darci) turned 30, and Ben turned 31. Time just marches on. This year was different for me in that I have started to feel a little more aware of how I am getting older whether I like it or not, and I have actually become very nostalgic at times for "good old days" which makes me feel OLD. But you know how it is, you hear a certain song or smell a familiar smell and it takes you right back to a moment or time in your life when things seemed better, or simpler. But honestly, I look at my life the way it is right now, and I realize how lucky and happy I am problems and all. The other night I was carrying a sleeping Riley into his bed, fretting about how much it was going to cost to get a tooth of his fixed at the dentist, and as I put him in bed he was limp because he was so sleepy. But his limpness and helplessness at that moment made me think of so many parents who have children with serious health problems, who maybe carry their children because they can't walk or they have a terminal illness. I am lucky! All I had to worry about at that moment was one little tooth.

I took a challenge from my Bishop this year to read the Book of Mormon and be done by the end of the year. When he gave the challenge, I was WAY behind schedule and had to do some major cramming but this forced me to read many chapters at a time rather than the 1 or 1/2 a chapter I usually do. Because of this, I gained a true testimony of the Book of Mormon which was not there before. I now know without a doubt that this book was not just made up by Joseph Smith, there's just no way. It is a TRUE account. I don't know if I should be embarrassed that I am just now gaining my OWN testimony of this book, but there you have it!

Okay, I'm off my soap box. I feel bad that this post seems to be all about me and my feelings. But let's face it, I am the sole blogger of this blog so it's no wonder you get to hear about ME all the time :) This year is going to bring lot's of great things! Goodbye 2010!



This was New Year's Eve. We are such wild party animals. We are in Malia's room getting ready to put her to bed which is why she looks bummed.

Riley loves his little snow hole. Ben started to dig a hole in the side of this mound but I freaked out and said "no way!" because all I could picture was the snow caving in on one of our kids. Maybe I over worry, because we all played in snow forts as kids but honestly it scares me to think of my own kids in one!

The sunshine! A welcome sight this time of year.

Once in, Malia did NOT want to get out. I should have just let them sleep out here :)

Christmas 2010 Sum-Up

Christmas this year was................Christmas. What else is there to say :) I got the Christmas spirit early in November, and unfortunately it wore out about a week before Christmas. So all the dang Christmas music was getting on my nerves and all the dang snow too, and I'm ready for Spring. But this is all very BAH-HUMBUG of me. Let me highlight how much fun we all had!!! The picture above shows that this year, we opted for a smaller more reasonable tree. Plus it was free since we already own it. Last year's "Big Bertha" was a one time gig, and from now on our Christmas trees will be a little less........intimidating. Although I have to mention that our little six foot tree is puny.

Christmas morning I had to leave at 8am to visit a home health patient. The kids woke up around 9:30 and waited "patiently" for me to get home before they could come out and see what Santa left them. They were so excited for their pillow pets! Riley got Magformers (really awesome magnets) and the movie How to Train Your Dragon. Malia got a vacuum and a pony, although each child thinks ALL the presents are theirs alone. It gets a little dicey, but Riley is good at sharing and Malia is............learning :) After they saw what Santa brought, they unwrapped the presents that Ben and I take credit for. Santa can't get ALL the credit!
And I musn't forget to mention the entertainment that flew in for Christmas. This is my special Mom, with one of her special expressions. She is doing exactly what HER mother does for pictures......pulls a face but you don't realize it until you look at the picture because she does it RIGHT before it takes the picture.
Malia LOVES her pony. It whinnies (I think it sounds scary) and makes lot's of horsey sounds, plus wiggles it's tail and snout and head. My Mom bought this for her. Riley has sort of laid claim to it as well. What's his is hers, and what's hers is his. This should go flawlessly, right? Riiiiiiiiight.

This was so cute! Riley bought some heart shaped earings for my mom with his own allowance money. Mom put them on right away. I told her to thank me for steering him away from the big chunky pink hoops he originally wanted to buy. It was so fun having my Mom here for Christmas.

This is probably the first Christmas EVER that I haven't run around picking up every little piece of trash right away. I just sat back and let it all explode everywhere, and it was kind of fun.

Hanging out at my Dad and Laurie's house doing a little gift exchange. My kids love being at Grandma and Granpa's house!

At the Cook's, where we are forced to cover our heads, just like the picture of the ten virgin's in the background. Then we are FORCED to smile and laugh like we are having a good time :) We got these beautiful scarves from Roger and Marianne and thought we'd have a little fun.

Ben fixed Malia's hair this day. I think she looks a little rough :) I love how Ben is trying to do bunny ears on her. Poor picked on child!

My Mom, umm, being funny. She got to ride in the back with the kids. Riley talked her ear off, and Malia yelled a LOT, something she just started. She has no volume control, and is very embarrassing in restaurants because she just loves to see how loud she can say "Eeeeeeh!" or something similar to that. And make no mistake, she is VERY loud. If you are in a restaurant with her, and sitting seven or less booths away, you will jump in your seat each time she hollers out. If this doesn't stop soon, I am going to look into some sort of operation. Do you think insurance covers noise reducing surgeries for toddlers?

This is such a perfect shot! The kids were about to tumble off this sled as it sped down a hill....they almost ran over me. Malia is so stressed and Riley is loving it.

We have had a LOT of snow this year. It's fun, sort of.

Gosh I'm glad we took the trampoline down! This snow was SO deep Malia couldn't even walk around in it.

Buddies in a box!

This child is not known for her patience. Before I could stop her she had hopped in the tub with her diaper. By the time I ran to get the camera and was done taking pictures, the diaper had swelled to nearly exploding and I could barely lift it!

SO THERE'S THE SUM-UP! NEW YEARS EVE POST COMING SOON.

We are SO hot!!!

We went out and played in the snow one night in our backyard, and decided to pull out these awesome snow suits my Stepmom Laurie bought for us. They came in handy but both of us felt a little overweight when it came time to zip them up!

Swingsets can still be fun in winter. Poor Malia doesn't have her snow clothes yet. The next day I went out and bought her some (see below)

My handsome boy! Luckily all his snow stuff should still fit for one more year. Phew! Kids are expensive :)
And here she is, all decked out in her snow gear and too-big boots. I LOVE the coat and all the purple. If you've ever seen her room, it is pretty much all purple. By the time she's five she will probably be sick of purple. But until she's 18 I get to decide what she wears so just watch, she will have a purple prom dress :)

I got these as a white elephant gift. Riley got the "angry Scottsman" eyebrows, and Malia the "unibrow". Everytime the unibrow would fall off, she would come running to us to put it back on. Then she would just wear it around like it was perfectly normal.

Riley's Kindergarten class had a Lua Christmas party. Here's Riley taking my order. Ben and I are SO enjoying watching Riley grow and learn. It's like experiencing the school years all over again.

Here's Riley with his awesome teacher! I am SO glad that he is in her class. She gets him, and has known from the beginning how to guide him and it is amazing how far he has come. I have also been trying really hard to help him in certain areas, such as not getting his feelings hurt so easy and not being embarrased so easily and he has come leaps and bounds. He really is SUCH a good little kid, a big helper with Malia, and his sensitive side is turning into a real sweet trait of his that makes him conscientious of other kids' feelings. LOVE this boy!

Mom & Chris' Visit, and HALLOWEEN!

WELL THESE PICTURES ARE OUT OF ORDER SINCE MY MOM AND BROTHER CHRIS CAME TO VISIT BEFORE HALLOWEEN, BUT CLOSE ENOUGH.
OUR LAST STOP OF THE NIGHT WAS BEN'S BROTHER SAM. HIS WIFE, STACIA, HAD TOLD ME THAT THEY WERE PLANNING ON GIVING OUT FULL CANDY BARS SO WE THOUGHT THAT WAS WORTH A TRIP TO THE NEXT TOWN OVER.

WHEN WE STARTED TRICK OR TREATING, IT HAD JUST FINISHED RAINING AND WAS STILL SPRINKLING A LITTLE. RIGHT WHEN EVERYONE WAS ABOUT READY TO GO OUT THIS MASSIVE, WINDY RAIN STORM CAME ALONG. BUT WHEN IT WAS OVER, ALL THE FAMILIES VENTURED OUT AND IT TURNED OUT TO BE A PERFECT HALLOWEEN NIGHT!
TRUNK OR TREATING IS AWESOME! I LOVED SITTING IN THE BACK OF OUR MAZDA HANDING OUT CANDY (WE GAVE OUT A TON OF CANDY, BUT PARTLY BECAUSE MANY OF THE KIDS CAME AROUND TWO OR THREE TIMES. HOW CAN YOU SAY NO WITHOUT SOUNDING LIKE A JERK?) MALIA QUICKLY PICKED UP ON THE CANDY PICKING, AND THIS YEAR RILEY MASTERED SAYING "TRICK OR TREAT" AND "THANK YOU". LAST YEAR HE JUST KIND OF GLOWERED AT EVERYBODY :)
WE WENT AND GOT SOME PUMPKINS, BUT I'M ASHAMED TO SAY WE NEVER DID GET AROUND TO CARVING THEM. BUT WE DID THE HAYRIDE, FROZE OUR BUMS OFF, GOT THE PUMPKINS, AND TREATS AFTERWARDS SO NOT TO BAD.

THE OTHER DAY I REMEMBERED HOW I USED TO TAKE RILEY TO THE PLAYGROUND ALL THE TIME WHEN HE WAS MALIA'S AGE, AND I HAVEN'T TAKEN HER BY HERSELF YET. WE TAKE BOTH THE KIDS ALL THE TIME, BUT I THOUGHT MALIA AND I MIGHT HAVE SOME GIRL TIME AT THE PARK SO I GRABBED A DIET COKE AND SNACKS AND IT WAS A BLAST FROM THE PAST OF ME AND RILEY WHEN HE WAS THAT AGE.
BEN, RILEY, AND MY BROTHER CHRIS WENT ON A HIKE SOMEWHERE UP ON THE NEBO LOOP. I LOVE THIS SHOT. AMONG MANY OTHER THINGS HE'S GOOD AT, CHRIS IS AN AWESOME PHOTOGRAPHER.

I WAS TAKING SOME POST-HAIRCUT PICTURES AND GOT THIS CUTE SHOT OF MALIA. I LOVE PUTTING HER IN PURPLE. IF SHE WERE IN HER ROOM SHE WOULD DISAPPEAR SINCE HER ROOM IS ALSO PURPLE. ONE QUICK FUNNY STORY ABOUT MALIA: THE OTHER DAY, SHE WAS IN MY BATHROOM AND I HAD JUST GOT HER OUT OF THE TUB AND DRIED OFF BUT NOT DRESSED SO SHE WAS IN THE BUFF (AND I WAS PRAYING SHE WOULDN'T PEE). I WAS DOING MY MAKEUP AND NOTICED HER WALK UP TO THE FULL LENGTH MIRROR, WITH HER LITTLE SWAGGER AND ADORABLE BELLY HANGING OUT. SHE CHECKED HERSELF OUT IN THE MIRROR FOR A FEW MINUTES AND LOOKED VERY PLEASED. THEN SHE LEANED FORWARD AND GAVE HER REFLECTION A BIG KISS! GUESS SHE LIKED WHAT SHE SAW :)

OKAY, SO I WAS WORRIED HOW RILEY WOULD ACT TO HIS UNCLE CHRIS SINCE HE HASN'T SEEN HIM IN A LONG TIME. WELL PRETTY SOON, CHRIS HAD A NEW SPECIAL FRIEND. SO SPECIAL THAT HE PRETTY MUCH DIDN'T LEAVES CHRIS' SIDE. I THINK THE CLAUSTROPHOBIA SET IN EARLY ON FOR CHRIS, BUT WHAT COULD I DO BUT ENJOY THE BREAK SINCE RILEY IS USUALLY MY SPECIAL FRIEND :) MALIA WAS A LITTLE AFRAID OF CHRIS, BUT SHE COULDN'T HELP HERSELF IN THIS PICTURE AND CRACKED A NICE GRIN.

MY MOM AND RILEY WORKING ON A SPIDERMAN PUZZLE. GOTTA LOVE GRANDMA'S WHO BRING PRESENTS.

FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER, WE HIKED TO TIMPANOGOS CAVES. IT WAS REALLY COOL! I'VE BEEN WANTING TO DO THIS FOR A FEW YEARS. THIS IS INSIDE THE CAVES. IT'S STRANGE TO IMAGINE HOW MUCH MOUNTAIN IS ABOVE YOU WHEN IN THE CAVES. AND THE WALLS IN MANY PLACES LOOK SQUISHY. BUT THEY'RE NOT. THEY'RE HARD. NOT THAT I KNOW, SINCE WE ARE FORBIDDEN TO TOUCH THE WALLS. SO I DIDN'T SNEAK EVEN ONE LITTLE TOUCH. NOPE, NOT ME.......

THE FOUR OF US, READY TO HIKE. I LOVE HOW IN THESE ARM LENGTH SHOTS, WHOEVER IS IN THE FRONT LOOKS AS IF THEIR HEAD IS THREE TIMES BIGGER THAN THOSE IN BACK.

MALIA WASN'T GETTING MUCH ATTENTION THE OTHER NIGHT, SO SHE DECIDED TO SNEAK OFF TO THE BATHROOM AND PLAY IN THE SINK. AND YES, SHE WENT AHEAD AND TURNED THE WATER ON, SEVERAL TIMES AND WAS QUIT WET BY THE TIME WE FOUND HER. WE WERE GOING TO GET HER OUT, BUT SHE WAS SO CONTENT WE LET HER PLAY FOR ANOTHER HALF AN HOUR. THIS IS ALSO A GOOD SHOT OF ALL HER HAIR! I FEEL BAD NOW THAT I CUT IT, BUT I WAS TRYING TO ELIMINATE HER MULLET, WHICH WOULD RAT ITSELF EVERYTIME SHE SLEPT ON IT.

IF GIVEN A CHANCE, MALIA WILL SNAG THE TOOTHPASTE OUT OF THE KIDS BATHROOM AND CARRY IT AROUND WITH HER ALL DAY "SNACKING" AS SHE GOES. ORIGINALLY I WAS WORRIED THAT AS SHE SUCKED ON THE TIP OF THIS, SHE WAS GETTING LOTS OF TOOTHPASTE. SO I TRIED IT, AND ACTUALLY SHE'S NOT GETTING MUCH AT ALL. I THINK HER SALIVA JUST MIXES WITH A LITTLE TOOTHPASTE UNDER THE TIP AND SHE SUCKS ON THAT. YUM! BUT HER BREATH IS PLEASANT.